Sunday, 9 March 2008

Can one family make a difference? Part 1

OK, this is the kind of article that people will probably skip but I'm putting it up anyway! HA take that!!

Last year my (then) 11 year old little brother held a bake sale. I know what your thinking - is this a sign, a little boy wanting to hold a bake sale? but in fact it was for a great cause. He held it to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF).

Unfortunately for us and for millions of families like ours, our mother was diagnosed with breast cancer a few years ago. Again unfortunately for us, it has progressed to many other places in her body including tumours in her spine and brain making it terminal. Fortunately for us, our mother is the most stubborn person in the world! She never lost her hair, still works building her own company and never let an 'illness' stop her being a human being.

The sad part here is my mother (who had me when she was a teenager - Just so i can make it clear I'm well past puberty and well past high school!) is only 38. She has had cancer for about 4 - 5 years. CHECK YOURSELF ladies! i cant stress it enough. Don't take any chances when it comes to your health.

You must see how proud i was of my little punk brother who thinks skateboarding is the only important thing in life. He talked to his principle and she agreed that it would be a good idea and tada! a bake sale was born. I don't remember the exact figure but they raised a few hundred dollars (a great effort considering he goes to a school with the population of about 100 students).

This made me think... if minion 2 (as i so aptly named him a couple years ago) can have so much passion to raise money for this cause, what the hell am i doing?? The answer is nothing. My Mentor once told me that if you want to change something then you have to DO something! So what can i do?

Upon some research as to what i can do to help i came across what other people were doing.

-Anyone who watches cricket will know that Matthew Hayden and Andrew Symmonds are definitely doing their part for the Aussie women. Together, the Aussie batting duo raised $14,580 for breast cancer research during the Ashes Test Series, using distinctive, specially made Pink batting grips in support of the cause.

-You can purchase a business shirt from MCM studio here and 5% from the sale of each Breast Cancer shirt will be donated.

- Jill plans to ski across Antarctica to raise $100,000 dollars for the NBCF find her website here.

- From November 2007, 5% from every wedding planning service provided by Dream Day Weddings will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Find there website here.

- Mr. Rose has created a Pink Classico shirt and will contribute 10% of the sales of this shirt to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Find their website here.

For the full list of the fundraising activities going on check here. One of my favourites is the couple who got everyone to wear a pink ribbon at their wedding. Great Idea!

Lately in the shops you can find a few things like Tim Tams, Moccona Coffee and Mount Franklin Water in pink bottles to raise money. I know my cupboards are full of pink products at the moment! hahaha. Oh and i love the OPI Pink of Hearts Nail Polish! For a full list of Pink Products click here.

With all these people stepping up and trying to make a difference I'm more inspired than before to do something. My main thought at the moment is my minion 2 inspired bake sale but on a bigger sale and with pink cupcakes, cookies and any other kinds of pink desserts i can think of! I'm going to putout my feelers and see what i can muster up!! Perhaps we can even get pink themed market's going somewhere!